


In Their Elements

by Elendiliel



Series: A Medic's Guide to the Galaxy [3]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Diplomacy, Gen, Planet Naboo (Star Wars), Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26579263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elendiliel/pseuds/Elendiliel
Summary: Poe isn't certain why he's been assigned a diplomatic mission, or this particular partner. He is certain that he's unlikely to enjoy it. But the only real certainty is the unexpected. Anything can happen, and probably will.
Series: A Medic's Guide to the Galaxy [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1954132





	In Their Elements

**Author's Note:**

> Chronology: shortly after The Last Jedi, before any of my previous fics.

Poe Dameron was _not_ looking forward to this mission. Talking to politicians was hardly his idea of a good time, but Leia had insisted. Gungan bosses respected status, apparently, and no other sufficiently high-ranking Resistance member could be spared. And to cap it all, even though this was only a three-person mission counting BB-8, they’d been assigned a transport shuttle. He’d much rather have a fighter, but where they were going that would draw attention.

The third team member was waiting for them at said shuttle. At first, he didn’t recognise her, never having seen her out of uniform before. Not so long ago, he wouldn’t have recognised her at all except as a face in the crowd, or on the opposite end of an arm from a hypo, bacta spray or mug of tea or caf. But now, for reasons he didn’t want to consider, the Resistance was small enough that he knew pretty much everybody. This one was a nurse, the youngest and newest member of the medical corps. Their paths had crossed a few times since leaving D’Qar. She’d been looking after Leia while he, Finn and Rose planned their raid on the _Supremacy_ , and must have overheard them, but hadn’t passed anything on. As the other transports burned around them on the way down to Crait, she’d reached out to him, tried rather clumsily to console him. Caring for Rose after the battle had brought her into Finn’s orbit. (Poe knew he should be jealous of the young mechanic, but she was just too likeable.) And being, in a small way, one of Leia’s protégées, she was already fast friends with Rey. He hadn’t expected to see her here, though.

“You’re coming with us? How much trouble does Leia think we’ll get into?” Elinor laughed, and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. It was already slipping out of its unaccustomed braid. Compared to the simple bun she usually favoured, the less formal style made a surprising amount of difference to her face, softening its sharp angles and adding definition to her jawline. That wasn’t the only deviation from normality. Instead of her uniform, she wore close-fitting blue trousers and a white tunic under a black jacket. The same boots, however, and no power in the galaxy could separate her from her med-kit. She’d augmented it with a waterproof bag that presumably contained their diving gear.

“I’m not here in my official capacity. Just providing local knowledge. I was born and raised on Naboo, I’m a qualified diver and lifesaver, and I speak the Gungan dialect pretty well.”

“Sounds useful. I guess we’d better get going.” They boarded the shuttle, BB-8 rolling in behind them and firmly fixing himself to the wall of the cockpit. He knew all too well what Poe’s flying style was like. Elinor, seated primly in the co-pilot’s seat, also strapped herself in, apparently out of habit, and examined the console with interest.

“You’ve never flown before? As a pilot, I mean.”

“No, I haven’t. I’ve always wanted to try, but I’m no good with heights and my eyesight’s appalling even with lenses.”

“Well, now’s your chance. Watch me carefully, and do exactly what I tell you, when I tell you.” He ran through the pre-flight checks, with Elinor watching and clearly taking mental notes. As they took off and prepared to jump to hyperspace, he kept up a running commentary on what he was doing and why, ignoring BB-8’s embellishments, and talked her through anything she could and should do. On at least one occasion, she was moving towards the correct control before he’d finished instructing her. When he asked about this, she just said that it had felt right. Either she was reading his mind or she was a natural at flying. It almost made up for her nearly confusing left and right several times.

Once safely in the tunnel, with nothing to do for some time, he returned to a query he’d filed earlier on. “Why do you wear lenses? I’d have thought a girl like you could afford surgery.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t rub it in. Actually, my right eye is too short-sighted for surgical correction. If I keep wearing the lenses long enough, it should fix itself, or at least get to the point where it can be fixed properly. And by the way, a Core-like accent doesn’t automatically mean rich.”

“I stand corrected. Any other medical issues I should know about?”

“Congenital cardiac myopathy and mild asthma – they’re both under control – and even milder dyspraxia. Basically, my heart, lungs and coordination are all up the spout, but I can take drugs to stop the first two escaping altogether and I’ve figured out some workarounds for the third.”

“That’s quite impressive. I’m surprised you haven’t found a safer job.”

She was nonplussed. “Ignore my calling? Worse than dying. Besides, I’d prefer a life that _means_ something, even if it’s a bit shorter.”

There was no answer to that, even though he felt much the same way. Poe let himself relax for a while, just enjoying being in hyperspace, in his element. At last, reluctantly recalling why they were there, he asked, “You’ve been fully briefed, right?”

The look on her face was a clear affirmative, even though it was technically negative. “Yes, I have. Sounds dull as distilled water, but the journey there and back should be good, at least.”

“Most people would say dull as _ditch_ water.”

“Have you ever seen ditchwater under a microscope? Not remotely dull.”

Their laughter was cut short by BB-8, signalling that they were nearly there. Poe, as ever, didn’t want the flight to end, but they had to land some time.

Naboo from space was _beautiful_ , a green and blue jewel Poe didn’t have the words to describe. Just as his mother had said. Thirty years had been more than enough time for the planet to renew itself after the devastation caused by the fallen Emperor’s revenge. He turned to give an instruction to his co-pilot, and saw the look on her face. There were no words for that, either.

“Not been home in a while?”

“Over a year, standard. Longest I’ve ever been away. Sorry, it always hits me like this. I just…” Her voice trailed into silence.

“It’s fine. I don’t know how you could bear to leave.”

“Part of me never really did, I think. Sometimes I just want to stay here forever, but _need_ takes precedence over _want_. Knowing it’s here and safe is enough, usually.”

BB-8 broke the awkward silence, reminding them that they weren’t there for sightseeing. They were headed initially for an area away from most human settlements, an access point for one of the underwater Gungan cities, relatively clear of the sea creatures that made the open ocean a death trap. There was little First Order presence in the sector, despite Naboo being in open revolt. The new Supreme Leader respected the homeworld of both the Emperor and (if the rumours were true) his grandmother. They were there to help make sure things stayed that way.

After landing, leaving BB-8 (after a furious argument) in the shuttle, the two humans made their way to what passed for border control on Naboo. _Typical_ , Poe thought, as he took in the building’s mix of functionality and elegance. _I bet even their prisons are beautiful. If they even need them_.

Elinor signed them both in with her scan-docs. Her real ones, to Poe’s surprise. She explained as they walked towards the changing rooms to don their diving gear. “It’s just a safety precaution, making sure everyone who leaves at one end arrives at the other. The dive is dangerous, no matter how experienced you are. Nobody has access to this system except the equivalent computer at our destination. My chain code shows that I grew up here, so I should know how to behave, and that I’m qualified to dive with a complete novice. Otherwise, we’d need a guide, which could get complicated.”

She handed him a pile of clothing and equipment and vanished into the female changing room, leaving Poe to follow suit.

_Elinor changed quickly. She was alone, and the wetsuit, goggles and respirator were still as familiar to her as her uniform, but she wouldn’t put it past Poe to get something muddled up. To that end, and frankly out of habit, she was already wearing a swimming costume under her clothes. It took her a moment to recall the trick to fastening the wetsuit’s zip, but it was still there in muscle-memory._

_She caught sight of her appearance in a mirror. Skies above, was that really her? She’d never be beautiful, she knew, but she looked_ good. _Unlike the full-body wetsuit she had back home, this was a so-called half-body model, stopping a third of the way down each limb and showing rather more muscle than she remembered. All that weight and combat training was paying off in more ways than one. It fitted well, flattening her figure for better streamlining without being too uncomfortable. Her stomach hadn’t been that flat before, she was sure. She’d always been slender (or, as her mother said every time she came home, too thin), but no one could call her athletic until now. She shook herself, dismissed such vain thoughts and headed out to see how much of a mess her teammate had made._

Poe had to double-check that that _was_ Elinor in front of him. Until now, he’d thought of her – if at all – in terms of hands, eyes, mouth and brain, paying little attention to what was between them. Her uniform was practical, but it could never be called flattering. Nor, technically, could this, but it did reveal a bit more, if not in the way that word was usually used. The figure-hugging neoprene garments weren’t exactly uncomfortable, but his felt unfamiliar to him. Elinor moved as easily in hers as he did in a flight-suit, which he supposed was his equivalent. It took him a moment to line up the brain cells to ask, “Mind helping me with this zip?”

_“Not at all.” Elinor found herself having to tell her hands to stop shaking as she complied. She’d seen rather more anatomy than a slice of back, hadn’t she? Mostly in textbooks, but still… A nurse, even an empath, had to be dispassionate. She’d had a crush on Poe for a while, but it could never really come to anything. He was ten years older than her and could have his pick of the galaxy’s females once the war was over. Or males, if, as she suspected, he was on another shuttle. Better just to stay friends. She hoped he hadn’t noticed as they walked out to the lakeside and she talked him, rather bossily, through the key safety rules for shallow-water diving._

_“Stick close to me. Too far behind and I can’t be sure I’ll get to you in time if there’s trouble; too far ahead and you’re probably going too fast for your respirator to handle. You’ll want to hold your breath at first; don’t. Just keep breathing normally, slowly and calmly. Not too deeply; err on the side of caution if you’re not sure. You’ll get the hang of it in no time. And_ really _don’t just jump in. It’s always colder than you expect; you’ll gasp, overwhelm your respirator and start to drown. I’d rather not have to fish you out right at the start. All right?”_

_“Yep, seems pretty clear.” They carried on in companionable silence for a little while. “Do I need these goggles?”_

_“They’re optional. I wear them to keep my lenses in place, but the lake water’s crystal clear. We’re taught to be able to do without in case of emergency, but if you’re not sure, better safe than sorry.”_

_“Thanks.” For all his daredevil reputation, Poe opted to take her advice on this occasion. They padded down to the water’s edge – it was a warm day; no need for the neoprene gloves and socks that were essential in colder weather – and fitted their respirators before Elinor demonstrated the safe way to enter the water and begin the dive._

_For the first few strokes, there was only the cool water around her, the sunlight lancing down and the steady rhythms of her heart, breath and limbs. All weight, all responsibility lifted from her, and there was only systole-systole-diastole, inhale-exhale, kick-glide-pull. The calm, steady pace that was as familiar as a favourite piece of music. Then the spell broke, and she had to take a moment to check that she still had both the dry-bag with all their belongings and, more importantly, her partner. He was following, but she’d left him some way behind. She turned a lazy somersault as she waited for him to catch up, then set off again, down through the azure world that was as much home to her as her parents’ house, as much her element as space was Poe’s. All too soon, it was over, and she indulged herself with an underwater handstand – something she never managed on land - just out of sight of the border post before the dull business of signing in again, showering and changing._

Poe was glad to be back in his own clothes. Elinor, he could tell, was not, and not just because her unbraided hair was still more than a little damp, water trickling down the back of her jacket and soaking her trousers. Wet hair didn’t really suit her, although being almost black it did make her pale face stand out more. He _had_ noticed her reaction when she’d helped him with his wetsuit earlier, but if she wasn’t going to make a move, nor was he. She was barely out of training, and deserved someone her own age, less likely to get himself blown up doing something daft. Having said that, Leia and Solo seemed to have managed it, at least for a while. _And look how that ended_ , his sensible side reminded him. Being friends was better, at least for now. Maybe after the war, if they were both still alive…

The border post at this end was much the same as the other. All the crossing points followed the same basic plan, Elinor told him, and they had all been built at roughly the same time. Queen Amidala had ended centuries of mutual hostility and mistrust almost overnight, and now both species mixed freely, although few had taken to living permanently in the other society. Consequently, among the crowd through which they were now threading their way were plenty of human faces, and even a few from further afield. Poe quickly learned the Gungan equivalents of “Sorry”, “Excuse me/us”, “Forgive my friend” and (he was fairly sure) “Idiot off-worlder” as they ricocheted between more people than either of them was used to seeing in one place. (He knew intellectually that Gungan was a dialect of Basic, but it didn’t sound like it.) Presumably Elinor did know the etiquette, but she had one arm wrapped around his to keep them together, which didn’t help. Finally, and with a mutual sigh of relief, they reached their destination and braced themselves for the tricky part. Talking to people.

Poe was happy to let Elinor sort out the administrative problems involved in actually getting to see the local boss and the former Representative to the New Republic Senate, who spoke for his whole species. She seemed different here, more confident, more talkative. A Naboo chain code and fluent Gungan dialect did open some doors, but while the Senate might have been non-existent, bureaucracy is eternal. Poe decided not to ask how she’d sweet-talked her way past one particularly recalcitrant receptionist, but he was sure he’d heard, as well as “Organa” and “Amidala”, his mother’s name somewhere in the torrent of words. Did they still remember Shara Bey here? It seemed so.

However she’d done it, they eventually got through to the people they wanted to meet, and it was over to Poe. Negotiating a mutual-aid agreement was definitely not what he’d signed up for when he joined the Resistance, but he thought he got a pretty good deal for the credit-strapped organisation. Naboo was still resource-rich, and determined never again to allow another Empire. Assurances of assistance in case of emergency were easy to give; it was what they’d do in any case. And the names Elinor had dropped on their way in couldn’t have hurt, or the hints he managed to include that there were new Jedi in training. Elinor had told him that the Jedi were still remembered as heroes here. (Maybe that was why she’d chosen the earrings she was wearing, with an abstract black-and-white pattern long associated with the Order.) Technically, this agreement was only with the Gungan population of the planet, but Poe was pretty sure that the boss – speaking for all his equivalents elsewhere on the planet – and the Representative would be able to cut the humans in somehow. They worked very closely with the planet’s Senator (when there was one) and the Queen of the Naboo, and had done since Queen, later Senator, Amidala’s treaty with Boss Nass during the Trade Federation’s occupation. Leia was widely rumoured to be Queen Amidala’s daughter; surely that would sweeten the pot even further.

Job done, they prepared to face the crowds once again. Elinor had been silent and almost invisible for the whole session, but bearing in mind that they’d been talking to politicians, they’d worked out a way for her to tell him covertly when one of them was lying, exaggerating or bluffing. They hadn’t had to use it much. The Gungans really did want to help the heirs of the Alliance, or just maintain their freedom – it didn’t matter. They were honest and honourable, and their reputation for stupidity clearly had little to no foundation. The Resistance would have to keep its side of the bargain, but Poe doubted that that would ever really be necessary. If Ren changed his mind about this place, or was replaced, they seemed quite capable of defending themselves.

This time, Elinor took his hand instead of his arm to lead him back to the crossing point, which made negotiating the pedestrian traffic easier. He didn’t mention that he could feel her elevated heartbeat, or that he could remember the way perfectly well. Her slim hand fitted nicely into his, nicked and burned from her work but still elegant and warm – Naboo to the core. _Just friends, at least for now._

All the same, he made sure he worked out how to fasten the blasted zip without having to ask her when they changed back into diving gear. No need to make things any more awkward. The shift from air to water was more abrupt this time, but he managed it well enough. Even going against gravity, the upward swim was far more enjoyable, and he soon overtook Elinor. Why was she going so slowly? Just reluctant to leave the water? He’d forgotten why she’d told him to stick close to her until water started trickling into his mouth, and by then it was too late.

 _Elinor sensed that something was wrong just as she realised that Poe wasn’t behind her this time. He was ahead, and in trouble. Years of training hijacked every spare neural pathway. Swimming as fast as her respirator allowed, mentally cursing them both, she drew level with him, anchored one arm firmly under his shoulders and kicked furiously for the surface, praying that she’d be in time. He’d already stopped breathing, but she could feel his heartbeat and life force – faint, too faint, but there all the same. They reached the open air at the same moment, but he was still a dead weight – not dead, please, not dead – in her arms, and they were far from shore. Changing her grip on him carefully, she switched to lifesaver’s stroke and got them both to dry land, any land, in a personal record time. Still not breathing. Mechanically, training still in full control, she started the sequence of artificial respiration she had learned so long ago, trying to get water out of his lungs and air back in. After what felt like hours, but couldn’t have been more than a minute, as she raised her head after another round of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, he_ finally _seemed to get the message._

Poe opened his eyes, but couldn’t seem to focus properly. Acting without his brain’s consent, his body rolled itself onto its side and coughed until what felt like half the lake had come back up, but he could take a full breath at last. He fell back to the ground, eyes shut again, and gasped like a landed fish (how very appropriate) until he felt strong enough to face the world once more. What he saw – and there were possibly better sights, but certainly worse ones – was Elinor, kneeling beside him, still wearing her goggles and a concerned expression, sopping wet plait (which she had redone for the return swim) hanging over one shoulder. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but the one that fought its way to the surface was, “Were you kissing me?”

She blushed, something that was very obvious on her even at that moment. “Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. You were minutes from death there, maybe seconds. I did _tell_ you about staying close, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you did. I just thought you didn’t want to leave the water. I’ll know for next time. Feels like I just swallowed half the lake.”

“Ingestion wouldn’t be as much of a problem. Inhalation is more dangerous.” She was smiling now, and hunting for something in her med-kit, which had been in the dry-bag. “Here, this should take the taste away.”

She held out a bag of sweets, surely not standard issue but a welcome sight. The sharp citrus taste and sheer sugariness chased away all lingering traces of lake water. She helped herself to one, then returned the bag to its place and fished out a scanner. “Hold still.”

_Elinor hoped her arms weren’t shaking too obviously as she checked for lasting damage. It had nothing to do with romance this time. Poe was about her height and not as skinny. Even with the water buoying them, getting him to the surface had taken more out of her than she cared to admit, and the adrenaline backwash wasn’t helping. The sweet was, though. “No brain damage – or at least, no new damage.”_

“Well, that’s good.” He let “new damage” go by this time. She’d earned it. That reminded him of something else Naboo people of both species were supposed to take seriously. “Do I owe you a life debt now?”

Her smile was reassuring, tinged with teasing. “I don’t hold life debts. Things just get too complicated in my job. Now, shall we go, before anyone gets worried? And you’d better call BB-8 on the way.”

She had a point. Poe scrambled to his feet and they headed for the crossing point, leaning on each other only as much as necessary. Her world, her element, might be every bit as beautiful as his, but it was just as deadly if you didn’t respect it. He was sure she wanted to show him how to do that, because he was determined to do the same for her, just as soon as they got back to the shuttle.

 _Elinor allowed herself to enjoy the warmth of Poe’s shoulder against her arm as they made their way back to the border post and their ride home. (Yes, base_ was _home, at the moment.) The memory of his mouth under hers, cold and unresponsive, wouldn’t go away any time soon. His hand in hers, though… She decided to let herself hope. Rebellions were built on hope, after all. And if there was one thing you could rely on, it was that the universe’s element, as water was hers and space was his, was surprise. Anything could happen._

**Author's Note:**

> "Respirator" is my name for the gadgets Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan used in The Phantom Menace. I invented their limitations to fit the story. I may also have played fast and loose with Naboo society; my knowledge of canon outside the films is somewhat patchy.


End file.
